rentier

[rahn-tyey]

noun, plural ren·tiers

[rahn-tyey] /rɑ̃ˈtyeɪ/. French.

a person who has a fixed income, as from lands or bonds.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for rentier

Contemporary Examples of rentier

Next, add the vices of a rentier state: laziness, irresponsibility, a sense of entitlement, and ignorance.
It’s Not the USA that Made Libya the Disaster it is Today
Ann Marlowe
August 3, 2014

Historical Examples of rentier

The one who has a perpetual income from bonds or rents is called a rentier.
The Principles of Economics
Frank A. Fetter
But did you see in the paper that he was put down as rentier?
Plays--First Series
August Strindberg
My French friends wanted to talk of the "Psychology of the Rentier."
War and the Future
H. G. Wells
He gives himself the name of Piquouique, rentier, English; and he appeals to his Ambassador.
Old Friends
Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for rentier

rentier

noun

1. a person whose income consists primarily of fixed unearned amounts, such as rent or bond interest
2. (as modifier)the rentier class

Word Origin for rentier

from rente; see rent 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rentier

1847, from French rentier, "holder of rental properties or investments that pay income," from rente "profit, income" (see rent (n.1)).